Skip to footer

Border crisis 101: eight things to know about unaccompanied children

Here’s a look at today’s immigration crisis and how it compares to the recent past.

5. How old are these children, and how many get “relief” in the US?

Rebecca Blackwell/AP/File
A young girl traveling with Central American migrants plays on the freight train they had been riding after it suffered a minor derailment outside Reforma de Pineda, Mexico, in June.

In FY 2013, 24 percent were 14 or younger when they arrived. That’s up from the 10 to 15 percent who were 14 or younger in FY 2007 and '08.

In 2011, 42 percent of unaccompanied children in government custody were found “potentially eligible for relief” to remain in the US legally, according to a study by HHS’s Legal Access Project in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice.

5 of 8
You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.